STNS: Chapter 527 (Patreon)

“Vermillion Blaze!!”

Wu Jian felt the atmosphere heating up as the scent of burning ozone filled his nose and his opponent’s Qi surged like a flame being fed oil. The fire was so hot that Wu Jian couldn’t get close to Shuchang without counteracting it with his own Qi, but that would just burn through his Qi faster. At the same time as the fire wall spread, the sound of a bird call filled the air, echoing all around them.

Keeping a firm grasp of his greatsword, Wu Jian raised it high and channeled Qi into the weapon, which soon glowed with the brilliance of his power and caused spatial distortions. All at once, the muscles in his body tightened, especially his arms and core, as he swung his weapon down.

“Cleaving the Heavens in a Single Stroke!”

The space in front of Wu Jian went silent. It was a stillness so absolute that it felt like time was standing still, but then, without warning, the area in front of Wu Jian was rent. A single line appeared in front of him, traveling from the ground to the sky, and everything within that area was cut in half. The ground, the sky, and the fire--all of it was split in half.

Shuchang whistled. “I’ve seen that attack of yours several times now, but I’m always impressed by it--whoa!” He jumped back as Wu Jian swung at him and raised his hands. “Easy now. There’s no need to attack right away, is there? Why not indulge me with a little pre-battle banter.”

“The battle has already started,” Wu Jian countered. “So it would be mid-battle banter, which I don’t do.”

“You’re doing it right n--”

“Swords of Space Rondo!”

“By the heavens!!”

Several spatial swords appeared around Wu Jian, and he sent them to attack Shuchang with vigor. Each sword was large, shaped like his own greatsword, Pale Moon, and while they looked unwieldy, they were anything but. Wu Jian used them expertly to attack Shuchang, who was forced to constantly retreat.

“Fine! If that’s how you wanna be! Then take this! Vermillion Shield!”

A shimmering barrier of fire appeared around Shuchang. They were shaped like a bird’s feathers. As the older man concentrated, the flames gathered around his forearms, coalescing into a form that appeared solid. Wu Jian narrowed his eyes as he launched his swords at Shuchang, and they only narrowed further when the other man slammed a fist into the first one and shattered it. He spun around as Wu Jian tried to attack him from behind and shattered that one too. Then the flames shifted from his forearms to his feet as he launched a powerful kick, shattering the last of Wu Jian’s swords.

Wu Jian never expected his attack to actually hurt Shuchang, but he also hadn’t expected his technique to be so thoroughly defeated. It was clear that his friend had, in the time Wu Jian had been training to regain his strength, also trained hard and become stronger. His techniques were far more refined now than they had been. The difference was almost like night and day.

“Teleportation!”

Not one to be deterred, Wu Jian quickly teleported directly to Shuchang. He was in the man’s guard, his blindspot, and swinging Pale Moon with the entire strength of his arms and torso. His attack tore through Shuchang’s body like it was made of rice paper, but he clicked his tongue as he realized there was no resistance nor any blood. Shuchang’s body exploded into flames, which shifted and morphed into a serpent that wrapped around him.

“Vermillion Serpent,” someone said behind him.

Wu Jian turned his head as the serpent constricted further, trapping him in overbearing flames. The fire ate into his clothes, burning them to cinders and leaving him with very little modesty, but he was more focused on the young man behind him. Shuchang still didn’t look like he was taking this fight very seriously. However, Wu Jian knew that couldn’t be the case. He had made an oath under heaven. Any oath made under heaven had to be fulfilled to the best of the maker’s ability.

“You’ve gotten sneakier,” Wu Jian said.

“I’ve learned that sometimes you have to be sneaky if you want to win,” Shuchang shrugged.

“Well, you’re not wrong, but that’s not gonna be enough to beat me.”

Wu Jian grunted as the muscles and veins all along his body suddenly bulged at once, as though the blood pumping through him had suddenly increased its flow several fold. With naught but brute strength, Wu Jian tore apart the fire serpent. Then he threw Pale Moon at Shuchang’s head. His opponent dodged it, but Wu Jian reached out as though grasping air and made a yanking motion.

“Come to me!”

The greatsword that had been spinning end over end like a boomerang suddenly veered and changed course, coming back toward them. The attack would have struck Shuchang in the back had he not heard it coming. He spun around and kicked the flat end of the sword, which disappeared into a spatial portal. At the same time as that attack was launched, Wu Jian threw himself into the air. Another portal opened above him just as his sword came out, and he quickly down it down on Shuchang.

Shuchang caught it with his hands. They were not bare hands, which would have resulted in his hands getting severed, or at least losing a few fingers. Both hands were coated in flames once again, and those flames protected him from Wu Jian’s attack.

“Tell me,” Wu Jian said as he pushed in close enough to Shuchang that they were almost nose to nose. “What exactly did you promise the phoenix?”

"I, Huǒ Shuchang, do hereby swear an Oath Under Heaven to aid the great phoenix, Yánhuǒ Tiānzhǐ, in bringing retribution upon those responsible for his suffering and in ensuring that justice is done. Should I break this vow, may the heavens punish me in any way they see fit,” his friend recited the oath he swore on the day he received the phoenix ashes.

***

Loong Mei knew very little about the phoenix who lived in the volcano, many dozens of li from the Flood Dragon’s ancestral home. Her people rarely ventured that way. There was little need since the ingredients that could be acquired there could just as easily be acquired in the village. They grew most of their own ingredients. About the only thing they needed from the volcano were a couple of fire mushrooms that only grew around the volcano’s base.

Known as the Phoenix Mountain Range, the location was a couple days travel from the Flood Dragon ancestral home. This was even if they flew at full speed. The only one among them who could and had made that trip multiple times was her brother, but Loong Chen had been away from the Da Continent in so long. Nobody else should have been going there.

So why…?

“Why are you attacking us?” Loong Mei demanded to know.

The being before her had lost his human guise, transforming once more into the mighty bird of flames. He was a beautiful creature with crimson feathers so deep they made her think of crystalized blood. His feathery main was a multitude of colors ranging from red to orange to pink. The plumage of his chest was, similarly, very colorful and vibrant, and the three tail feathers extending from behind him were likewise gorgeous, each one a different color, as though to represent something, though she knew not what.

Of course, his beauty was currently marred by irreconcilable rage.

And her words only seemed to incense him further.

The temperature rose dramatically as the phoenix snarled at her. “You dare ask me why I’m attacking you when your people have been intruding upon my domain for centuries?! Have you no shame?”

Loong Mei did not know what he was talking about. The only person who ever intruded upon his domain had been Loong Chen, and her brother hadn’t been seen on the Da Continent in over a century.

She would not get a chance to voice her complaints as the phoenix flapped his wings and generated an incredible gust of wind and flames that turned into a tornado of fire. This flame was so hot that Loong Mei felt herself getting burned just by being before it.

“Flame Tornado!”

Realizing that she could do little more than fight, Loong Mei roared and transformed. Qi flowed through her body as her skin turned to scales and her muscles quickly expanded. Her neck grew longer. Her wings fused with the flesh of her arm as bright silvery blue scales appeared along her head, neck, and back like a mane. Loong Xian and Loong Yin behind her also transformed. Their roars resonated with her own.

“Flood Tornado!!”

She and the other two elders present released their techniques, which combined after they were launched to create a single technique that was many times stronger than if they had made one on their own. The combination technique slammed into the phoenix’s fire and canceled it out. This did not, however, mean they were out of danger.

“Burn until even your ashes vanish, you scum!”

The phoenix screamed as flames engulfed everything within the vicinity. Loong Mei quickly surrounded her body with water and withdrew, but the flames were so powerful that the water barrier around her evaporated mere seconds after touching the flames. She grimaced as the flames at away at her clothing. After putting some distance between herself and her enemy and putting out the flames, she looked down and saw a burn covering her skin. It was black, cracked, and oozing blood.

She bit her lip as she healed it with Qi. She was fortunate Flood Dragons like her had a high regeneration factor. So long as she had Qi, she could heal just about any injury.

The other two had also managed to escape, though Elder Loong Yin had not managed to escape entirely unscathed either. His entire left half was black and bloody. Yet that did not mean he was finished either. Determination burned within his eyes like that very flame that had tried to consume him.

“Azure Torrent!”

Deciding to go on the offensive, for to do anything less was to give her foe an opening, Loong Mei summoned the elemental power of water. It appeared before her, congealing into a massive azure dragon that spiraled around her before launching itself forward.

“Hmph!”

The phoenix snorted as he backhanded her technique. Flames spewed from his hand, causing all the water she had summoned to evaporate.

But this was just a distraction. With the phoenix focused on her, Loong Xian was able to attack from behind. His majestic form was striking. The deep emerald scales covering his body glimmered as he struck the phoenix with a claw, or tried to. The phoenix had sensed him coming and spun around, countering the man’s claw with a wing. Fire and water pushed against each other as the two fought for supremacy. However, Loong Mei knew it was only a matter of time before the phoenix won.

Loong Mei flew forward, spun around, and used the resulting torque to launch her tail forward so fast it broke the sound barrier. The loud sonic boom preceded an even louder sound--that of her flesh slamming into a torrent of flames that had suddenly sprouted between her and her foe.

“Phoenix Flame Barrier,” the phoenix intoned.

Loong Mei clicked her tongue as she, Loong Xian, and Loong Yin leapt back to reassess the situation. She looked down at her shin, which now had an ugly burn on it, then looked at the phoenix, who glared back at her with pure hatred burning in his eyes.

The battle soon recommenced, and the area around them became ablaze with destruction. Homes were destroyed, not just by fire, but by proximity. Their battle tore up the sky. Shockwaves spread across the sky and slammed into the earth, destroying buildings with impunity. Loong Mei felt her heart burning with shame and anger. How dare this creature attack her people so unjustly! Yet she could not afford to spare even a moment to mourn. The phoenix was at the peak of cultivation, and even the three of them combined were nowhere near strong enough to defeat it.

As the battle continued, she realised someone among her elders was missing.

Where is that blasted Loong Feng?!